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Open Ear to Closed Ear

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Blazerbender 
#1 ·
OK folks. What I have is an nos FAL barrel with an open ear gasblock. And I have a couple closed ear GB's. Has anyone switched over? And if you had to do it again would you? How difficult/time consuming is it? And are there any pitfalls you had to surmount? Any real world help would be appreciated. Thanks.
A quick add: All of these parts are Metric.
 
#3 ·
My concern is that it would be easy to remove one and a bit more difficult to intall the other. Like how do you make sure it's plumb as you press? Are the pins harder to remove, as in, is it 2lbs and 2 whacks, or do you have to break out the press for the pins. I'm the kinda guy who likes to know what's in the water before I jump in head first.
 
#4 ·
I have read horror stories about how hard these are to remove. The two or three that I have removed have been easy. I used a block of oak to tap the block off. Just tap the shoulder of the block around the edges and keep it moving square to the barrel. A dead blow hammer worked well here.

If your open ear is Inch, the retaining pin is tapered. One way in, one way out. The Argy open ear blocks and Metric blocks should be a straight pin but look carefully. It's been awhile since I messed with an Argy. I mention Argy because that is the only open ear Metric I can think of. Not sure if Izzy was open ear.

Put some penetrating oil on the block now and set it aside for a week. There will be carbon build up that will hold the block tight. Kroil is best.
 
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